Benjamin Wenner

As an associate professor in the department of animal sciences, Dr. Benjamin Wenner estimates that 90 percent of his students have grown up without any farm experience.

“Most of them have never been around large animals, never seen anything give birth, and have never been responsible for feeding and watering any animals on a daily basis, let alone livestock,” he said. Wenner finds it rewarding to watch as students grow more confident and competent throughout each semester. And he knows much of that progress comes from the immersive learning experience Waterman provides. There, students have convenient access to real, hands-on livestock learning, right on campus.

“It used to be a 30-minute drive for students to get on a real farm and get their hands dirty,” Wenner said. “Now students can get out to the farm and still get to their next classes on time.”

Wenner is looking forward to the new Multispecies Animal Learning Center and believes there is great potential for increased engagement with the Columbus community, thanks to its urban location. He hopes the facility’s open, welcoming design will encourage more people to learn about where their food comes from and the many opportunities in the field.

“There’s a lot of joy in agriculture and this site gives us the opportunity to share that with people who don’t know anything about it,” Wenner said. “Transparency is at the forefront of the future of agriculture. Here we are opening the doors and the windows to say, ‘Ask us anything you want to know.’”